Alexander Isak Robbers Instructed to Repay Only £1 Each from £1.2 Million Heists
Individuals of an Italian clan of burglars who stole more than £1.2m worth of goods, among them from ex- Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 each.
Siblings Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela and her son Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the north-east of England to burgle three houses in spring 2024.
The group of four were imprisoned for from a decade or less in 2025.
At a criminal assets proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to repay £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must pay £1,135.
Particulars of the Burglaries
The court was told the gang came by boat in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service rest stops while utilizing another car to scout out properties and carry out thefts.
On March 31 they stole more than one million pounds of goods including designer clothing, purses, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the residents were on holiday.
The next evening, the gang broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole luxury bags, jewellery and shoes valued at over £100,000.
Following surveillance of the football club's facility for two days, they then acted at the home of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in money, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.
The group, who were described by the prosecution as experienced itinerant thieves, used gloves and masks, switched their mobile devices on silent as they approached their objectives and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.
Legal Hearings and Sentencing
Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by the court, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the identical accusation.
At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer the prosecution said each of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the value of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the affected parties said they had had stolen.
But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual deemed to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the judge heard, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.
The other three had no assets or assets so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the result if the money was not submitted.
Judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the future, "for example driving around in Italy in a fast car or owning a property", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the amount outstanding".